To Carry On After The Fall
by Mereel Skirata
Summary: Sailor Moon AU short. Imagine a world where Queen Serenity failed to send all of the Senshi to Earth after the destruction of the Silver Millennium. And where two Senshi had to fight on against a Nega Moon that vastly out powered them. That is the world Minako and Rei find themselves in. Alone, without Artemis and Luna, can Minako avoid the fate she dreads living through again?


To Carry On After The Fall

Sailor Moon - AU

Pairing: Minako x Rei

Warning : contains Yuri and girl/girl romance. Don't like, don't read.

This story is owned by me, Mereel Skirata and cannot be reproduced anywhere else without my permission.

* * *

How sad that of all the children of the moon only a few can actually sleep proper sleep. True sleep of soothing dreams. That voice, soft, ethereal and tinged with an otherworldly sadness resonated in the silence , a voice of memory from far away. 'They should all be here now, living new lives on this blue planet with each other and with the evil that brought our home and kingdom low sealed away. Alas my conflicted heart lead to the loss of the ones I sought to protect. Why else would the Silver Crystal have failed me, have shattered at the time I needed it most. To use its power requires a determined heart and mine was not. At the last, I couldn't bear to lose my daughter even if losing her meant saving her. And by fearing I lost her anyway. My plan to send my daughter to a new life on Earth with her dearest friends and protectors failed. The Princess' of Mars and Venus I sent to Earth before my weakness overtook me and the Crystal shattered. Then my enemy seized that glance to fight my spell. Leaving me with one desperate hope, to seal my daughter and the two remaining Princesses on the Moon and Beryl with us. Only she broke free, snatched herself free from my spell and fled from my sight. Then it was too late and I could not undo the sealing that holds us here in Limbo. Perhaps Beryl is too trapped in some Limbo, but I fear not. I fear she has followed the Princesses to earth where she will awaken and finish her campaign. Alone the two of them cannot stand against this evil, but in the hope they survive I have sent them what power I have, the last remnant of the Silver Crystal. It may at least ensure they live full lives before Beryl returns. That little is all I can do and still it feels too little. Maybe this Limbo is for the best, so I do not have to witness my failure.'

As those words both heard and not faded so did the light from the Crystal shard until it lay as still as the still sleeping girl, still sleeping even as the first light crept in to drive away the dull dusk with the promise of a day as bright as her golden hair. It was under that bright light that the blonde stirred with a groan, her eyes twitching in a deep but futile effort to hold onto sleep. An effort that failed instantly, the blonde sitting up groggily as the door to her room opened slowly.

'Up already Rei?' The blonde yawned, that motion sending a lancing spark of pain down her side that she hid with effort. 'You should still be resting.'

'So should you.' Her raven haired roommate fixed her with a stare as fiery as her red nightshirt, fiery with concern for her longtime and closest friend. A friendship as fierce as the passion she poured into everything she did. It was that passion that had drawn Minako to Rei long before either of them discovered the secret tie they shared. In Rei she had found a kindred spirit, someone who shared the same drive and passion as her. True, they went about it in different and often contradictory ways. But the drive was the same. Sure, it looked like an unlikely friendship at times. Rei, the honours student with the great family background stretching back to the earliest days of the school. It was in no doubt that she would earn a place at the most prestigious private school in Japan. But Minako..this had never been on her life plan. And if not for her impressing of a talent scout who saw her potential as an actress and idol, she wouldn't have earned an impressive scholarship to be repaid by a fixed contract upon her graduation. As I said. Unlikely. But it happened, both girls ending up in the same class and after somewhat of a rocky start, forming a solid friendship.

'Oh? And which one of us took that blast from the Shade last night?' Minako chided softly, that selfsame friendship allowing her to ask that most direct of questions. A question that couldn't push away the horrific sight of Rei sliding towards the edge of the Tower Block that had formed the site of last nights battle , a slide that would surely have sent her tumbling over that edge had Minako not dived to grab her friend. Far more terrible was the realisation that barely a second later and Rei would surely have fallen, not ended up dangling from her clasped hands until Minako had hauled her back to the roof. Winded, shaken and with her sides and arms screaming with that effort, that hadn't stopped Minako and Rei charging back into battle. Even if it had been a desperately thrown fireball from Rei that had finally driven the Shade away to wherever they came from.

'I'm fine.' Rei answered her question evenly. 'A little tired, but fine. Nothing to worry about.'

'This time maybe.' Minako replied. 'But you know what we face. We've only be fighting Shades up till now. The Dark Moon has yet to show its true power. And they are growing stronger each night. Sooner or later a Youma will appear and we have only a fraction of the power we should have. Can we really deal with that? Just the two of us? Without the Queen, the Princess or our fellow Senshi. Even our Queen with the Imperial Crystal couldn't win.' Minako jerked her hand towards the tiny gem that sat beside her bed. 'And what little remains does us no good. So what can we do?

'We..will do what we can.' Rei answered, which wasn't the answer Minako had hoped for but it would have to do.'

* * *

The lights of Tokyo always held an attraction for Minako. Even now, with her head and heart conflicted by doubts, she felt..alive here. Like nothing else mattered. Or that might have been something to do with Rei. Rei. The girl who shone brighter than the glittering malls and pachinko parlours that surrounded them. Yes, she was part of her life, part she clung too dearly. Not just this life either, but her past life. A life that Rei didn't remember. Not in full. She remembered them of course, the relationship they hadn't had to hide back in the Silver Millennium. Remembered what they shared and had to hide here behind the facade of two classmates and friends, presenting a face to the world their families would accept. Only..Minako remembered more.

It had been her who awakened first, months before Rei had regained her powers and memories. Memories drawn forth in a dream. Yet a dream still vivid and vague. Minako could still remember the voice, strange yet familiar calling for her. Calling to her from shadows. Struggling to see more than the shrouded figure with long hair tied in two buns, Minako, the dream Minako, had run towards that voice and into her arms like a long lost friend. Arms that held her close and tight in silence. For she didn't speak again save a delicate whisper so soft it might not have existed at all. Yet two words the effect of which she couldn't ignore. 'I'm sorry.'

It was to those words Minako had awoken with a jerk, her face hot with salty tears that stained her lips with a deep sorrow as her mind whirled; filled with a storm of emotion and memories and pain and loss. Loss of a home she never knew and yet missed with a fierce longing, loss of her dearest friends and confidants. Some of whom she never knew but one she knew all too well. Rei. Mars. Her fellow Princess. The polar opposite of Love and yet tied to her by that force. And memories of the enemy she had to fight. An enemy she felt she had to find and fight. An enemy here on Earth.

How she knew with such certainty she had no idea, but it was that..instinct the lead her into battle with that foe. Her resurfaced powers and memories guiding her to this evil and giving her the power to defeat it. She could feel it, like an icy chill that seeped her soul. The dark presence of a Shade. Shades she had defeated at first, her skill returning as her memories did. But soon that skill was matched by their power and then exceeded. And it might have been that power that would have seen the end of her had Rei not awakened. Awakened just as Minako struggled to defend her, the surge of memory overtaking her as it had done Minako. Memory that turned into fury that drove away the enemy they both hated. From then on, they had fought side by side as best they could, somehow matching the foe they both knew was only the harbinger of something worse. Something they had fought before. Fought and failed against, a failure that was completely to blame for the loss of the one person she held dearest. A failure she wouldn't allow to happen again.

'You know, what's the point of a date if you keep spacing out on me.' Rei teased with a grin. 'Trying to prove the blonde stereotype maybe?'

'Very funny.' Minako managed dryly, sarcasm making a good mask for her worries. 'And I wasn't spacing out. I was just thinking of where we could go next. As much as I never get bored of window shopping, something to drink would be nice.'

'I'm not sure we should.' Rei smirked. 'Us being model students and all.'

'Not that kind of drink.' Minako chided. 'No, I was thinking of something sweet and decadent and warm. It's getting kinda cold out here, don't you think?'

'Actually, no. I'm feeling...' Rei trailed off. 'Wait..are you feeling...not a Shade?'

Minako didn't get to answer that as the normal hustle and bustle of the town centre was broken by a very different kind of activity. What started off as a almost imperceptible slowing of the crowd around them very quickly turned into a complete halt which itself turned into a stampede like rush. Had the duo not been at the edge of the street and had Rei not had the presence of mind to pull Minako against the shopfront behind them, they might easily been swept away in the panicked tide.

'This can't be a Shade.' Minako answered quickly. 'They never attack so brazenly. Not out in the open like this. Does that mean..'

'We won't know until we look.' Rei already had her pen in her hand, the smooth familiar metallic shape bringing her little comfort. Yet what comfort it did bring she clung too fiercely. 'No one will notice here. So let's do it. Mars Power, Make Up.'

Any hesitation, any doubt Rei might have felt wasn't mirrored in her transformation; her civilian clothes hastily shed for the traditional red trimmed and skirted fuku of her alter ego, her trademark fire aiding the transformation to the Warrior of Mars she needed to be.

Beside her in a flash of light, Minako too had shed her civilian guise to that of her long time ally and fellow warrior, Sailor Venus of the self same planet, her fuku trimmed in bright orange perfectly matching the gem on her tiara, which was itself a almost mirror image of the one that decorated Rei's brow.

'This way.' Minako called out, leaping with ease over the heads of the panicked crowds, her jump carrying her from low awning to telegraph pole to flat roof as easily as one might walk along a street. With Rei in tow and amidst the startled stares from the people below, it wasn't long before they reached the obvious source of the panic. Even Minako, with all she had seen recently and in her past life, couldn't help being shocked by what she saw. It was like someone had taken a slice out of the air, all jagged and rough and leaking a dark energy that chilled her to her core.

'That...has to be the Negamoon.' Rei sounded rattled. True, that could have been Minako imposing her own fears onto Rei but she didn't think so. They both had good reason to be afraid. Minako more than Rei though. She of the two of them knew all too keenly what this meant.

'Yes. Or they must be on the other side of it.' Minako agreed. 'Maybe we are not too late to...'

'Down.' Rei called horsely, tugging Minako out of sight around the corner of the arcade they had stopped by before her companion could ask why. Then it became all too clear why. Rei's instincts had served them both well, the pair barely having ducked out of sight before a trio of inhuman creatures burst with cries of relish from the portal. Hulking and monstrous they sniffed the air almost eagerly, keenly sensing something that drove them into more of a frenzy. A frenzy that sent them charging as one in the direction the crowd had fled.

'Come on. Maybe we can...' Rei started before Minako grabbed her arm firmly. 'What? Minako, we have to..'

'We can't. We can't stop them.' Minako said firmly. 'Those are Youma. We haven't the power to defeat them. But maybe we can close that portal. If we go through. Youma draw their power from the Negamoon. Close the portal and maybe they will lose their power.'

'But that would mean..' Rei began.

'Leaving these people at their mercy. I know.' Minako replied. 'If all of us were here maybe we could do more. But it's all we can do. So..I'm going. I'm going through.'

Minako put action to those words, striding up to the portal that flickered and flared with its unholy light, a light that bathed her in cold black shadows. Within a few strides she stood right on the threshold, knowing there would be no turning back. One step and she would be set on a course she couldn't change.

'Then I'm going too.' Rei said. 'I won't let you go in there alone.'

'Yes. I thought you would say that. And I'm sorry.'

For what? That question danced across Rei's eyes before she could speak it. Which was a close as she got to asking it before Minako shoved her friend backwards with all her strength. Caught off guard Rei stumbled back two paces, but that was enough for Minako.

'Venus Crystal Barrier.' Minako's shrill cry cut through the evening air as did the harsh almost crystalline sound of the selfsame barrier forming around the portal, a clear yet thick layer of flawless crystal sitting between her and Rei.

'Minako.' Rei's scream cut like a knife to her breast but Minako kept her face blank despite the turmoil in her heart. 'Minako. What are you..'

'What I have too.' Minako replied. 'There are things you don't know, don't remember yet. Maybe I should have told you. Told them to you. But I wanted to spare you. Which is just what I'm doing now.'

'Minako. Minako, please. I don't understand.' Rei looked frantic now, her hands pressing into the Crystal as if trying to find a weakness or gap by which she could enter. And that desperation at not being able too, the sheer terrified helpless of it broke Minako's heart. 'Minako, let me in.'

'I can't.' Minako said, her resolve strong even as her heart felt like it was splitting in two. 'I can't Rei. There are things I can't watch again. Things I can't go through again. I can't watch you die again, Rei. I know. You don't remember. But I do. At the end of the Silver Millennium...you were the first to fight Beryl. My brave, bold and fiery Mars; rushing to face her alone before the rest of us arrived. And you..were the first to fall. We..I..arrived too late. Arrived to find you..dying. The others tried to fight while I...went to you..held you..tried to make it right. But I couldn't. I couldn't. You died in my arms and I could do nothing. I won't let that happen again. I'll stop this if I can, I'll give my life to end this threat if it means that you live, my love.'

'Minako!' Rei screamed. 'Don't. Let me in. Please. Come out. Please. We can think of another plan.'

'We can't.' Minako replied with a sad smile. 'But I know you can live. And you will Rei. Live and remember me, my sweet Rei.'

Minako had to turn away at that point. Had she not the last fragile piece of her heart might have held her back, her resolve crumbling like her shattered heart. Yet somehow she found the strength to walk away, Rei's screams echoing in her ears as silent tears streamed down her face.

* * *

Where she was going, Minako had no idea. Yet somehow her feet led her almost unerringly out of the narrow corridor of shadows she had found herself in and into a wide space of Ebony stone, devoid of all natural light yet lit by some unearthly illumination that gleamed around and over the cruel throne set at the far side of this cold chamber. A throne set beside a twisted gem that seemed to drink in all the light that flowed over it.

'It was foolish of you to come here, Princess of Venus.' An icy voice glided out of the shadows as the graceful figure in a flowing black dress that pooled around her feet emerged from beside the throne. 'Foolish of you to even think about trying to defeat me. Or perhaps it is this you have come for.'

Filling that pause with a laugh, Queen Beryl lightly laid a hand over the gem. 'Perhaps you have guessed this is the source of the portal to your world. And that if you can destroy it, then you can save your precious earth. Well, you cannot. For you cannot defeat me. Even your vaunted queen with all her might and the Imperial Crystal could not defeat me. You have nothing to match me. Not even that broken trinket of a Crystal you carry can help you now. But it can help me. Even with a fraction of its power, it still has a use to me. Hand it over and I will spare not just you, but your foolish companion as well. I might even let you serve my new Kingdom.'

'Never.' Minako snarled. 'We will never join you. But if you want the Crystal, then take it.'

Snatching the pendant from around her neck, Minako leapt and hurled the stone as hard as she could against the wall. The look of horror on Beryl's face was both what she had expected and hoped for. Summoning all her will even as Beryl outstretched her hand for the Crystal, Minako jabbed a finger forward. 'Venus Crescent Beam.'

The aim of the bright yellow beam that lanced forth was true, true enough to strike the dark gem dead centre. Yet all that aim and power failed against the flash of darkness that somehow absorbed her attack like it wasn't there. Minako didn't get a second chance as a wave of pressure knocked her to the ground, the impact driving the wind from her lungs. Which didn't stop her raising to her head to see Beryl advancing on her, the Imperial Crystal dangling from her hand.

'Well..seems I have everything I want. Which means I have no need of you. Seems I get to kill you again. I do hope you don't come back this time.'

Minako didn't lower her head even as Beryl raised her other hand that was already crackling with black electricity, arcing between her fingers and out into the air. Nor did she flinch as Beryl drew back her hand.

'Mars Fire Soul.'

The darkness around her was broken with the same suddenness as the silence, bright brilliant flame striking Beryl full in the face. Most likely more surprised than hurt, she still staggered backwards as Rei landed before the equally surprised and horrified Minako.

'Rei. Why did you..'

'I couldn't let you die either.' Rei said firmly. 'At least not alone. I couldn't live with myself if I did.'

'You..' Minako climbed unsteadily back to her feet. 'You shouldn't..but I guess it doesn't matter. She has the Imperial Crystal. It's all over.'

'Only if we let her keep it.' Rei rested a hand on her shoulder. 'I'm still up for one last fight. Are you?'

'Yes. Yes.' Minako said with more conviction the second time. 'I'm sorry I pushed you away. I...'

'I know. It doesn't matter now.' Rei said with the genuine understanding and compassion that had made her fall in love with her in the first place. Both first places really. 'Let's do this.'

With that promise and impromptu battlecry, Rei dived back into the fray. There was no holding back here as the warrior of Fire was revealed in all her blazing glory. Blazing like the flames that danced and whirled around her foe in a blinding firestorm that sent her hair whipping simply from the outrushing of oxygen. The very air itself seemed to burn and ripple with fire, the column of fire closing around the startled Beryl as Rei herself closed.

Only when she was a bare pace away did the flames fade, Rei channeling all her power into her mandala, launching a storm of flaming disks that the Dark Queen was forced to bat aside, powerful sweeps of her arms knocking them aside as she now closed. Closed step after step until with outstretched hand she lunged for Rei's throat.

'Venus Love Me Chain.'

Barely a second before her fingers closed around soft flesh, a glittering golden chain of pure light wrapped around that wrist. From there a firm tug was all it needed to pull Beryl off balance. Just for a second but that was all Rei needed.

'Mars..Fire Soul.'

The snaking ball of fire stuck true, catching Beryl on her other hand which was still clasped around the Crystal. At least until that strike weakened her grip, her fingers flexing instinctively.

'Venus Crescent Beam.'

Minako's aim was as true as Rei's, her strike further weakening the grip on the Crystal. Which gave Rei the opening she needed. With all her strength she struck with her mandala and was rewarded with a scream of pain, Beryl's hand opening to send the Crystal tumbling to the floor.

'You little..' Beryl roared, her outstretched hand sending daggers of dark energy at Rei so fast she knew she could never avoid them. Somehow resigned to her fate, Rei let her eyes drift closed. Only for them to snap open as a scream cut through her mind. Her eyes opened and her heart froze in one terrible second, one second being all it took for her to see Minako standing before her; her fuku torn and shredded where the daggers had struck.

'Minako.' Rei screamed, barely remembering moving. But she must have done because Minako was now cradled in her arms, her eyes staring up at her weakly. 'Minako. Why did you... You Baka. Why, Minako?'

'This time...I got to save you.' Minako whispered. 'That..was what...I wanted Rei. To save you. My life..didn't matter for that.'

'It does to me.' Rei screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. 'You matter to me, Minako. So you can't die. Don't die, Minako. Please.'

'I think..it's too late for that.' Minako said calmly. 'I did my duty. Goodbye Rei. Live, Rei. Live.'

'No.' Rei sobbed as Minako's eyes closed and her chest fell one last time and then became still.

'It's too late for both of you.' Beryl said harshly. 'You can both die. And take the last Remnant of the Silver Millennium with you. And your Queen isn't here to revive you now.'

'You are wrong Beryl. They aren't the last. And I am here.'

'You.' Beryl spun with a snarl, the form and visage of Queen Serenity coalescing from a shimmering pillar of light to stand with the Silver Crystal resting in her palm, the glittering gem now whole again and gleaming with the essence of moonlight. 'How can you?'

'When we fought, you only disrupted my last incantation.' Serenity said softly. 'Instead of being sealed away on Earth, I and the other three were sealed beneath the moon. And there we lay trapped until the Silver Crystal was brought back to me. My Senshi brought me enough time to reach for it and restore its power.'

'So you have the Crystal. I have corrupted your precious moon. You cannot defeat me here.' Beryl said with a smirk.

'No..I cannot. But I can do what I meant to do thousands of years ago.' Serenity said. 'I can send you and my children, my Senshi to Earth. Yes, it will mean my time, my life is done. But so must it be someday for a Queen. So why not today?'

'No..not today.' Beryl screamed, launching another flurry of daggers that simply faded against the light glowing around the Queen. 'No.'

'Yes.' Serenity rose to her full height, the glow growing and spreading as a sphere that where it passed destroyed the darkness Beryl had created leaving the pure surface of the moon behind. Even Beryl could not resist its power and with a scream as it passed over her she vanished, leaving Rei alone with the Queen still clutching Minako's body in her arms.

'And what of us.' Rei couldn't tear her eyes away from the lifeless Minako. 'Will we really be reborn on Earth?'

'You will.' Serenity knelt to caress Minako's brow. 'And neither of you will remember this life. Think of it as a dream, Rei. One you won't remember when you awake. Yet you will find each other again.'

'That's good. I don't want to remember this.' Rei whispered, one more tear running down her cheek as she kissed Minako's lips. That was the last thing she remembered before the white light overtook her and she and Minako vanished, leaving the dead moon empty and still.

'I spoke the truth to Rei. None of them will remember this, these days consigned to a forgotten chapter that best lies forgotten. Let it stay a memory while all my children, my brave Silver Senshi and Princess find new lives and new happiness. For my spell has been cast as it should. They will all live again, reborn to different lives and different beginnings. They will start out apart, in different places but they will forever be bound together. Some bonds are too strong to break. And within them the Silver Millennium will live again. And so I have not failed and they will succeed in my battle. Succeed and grow strong together. And when Beryl arises again, they will face her in the same way. No. I have not failed. Not this time.'

* * *

so..maybe not my best story. I don't know. I often feel that way with these short, impromtue ideas I come up with. It was still something fun to write and play around with, which is the main thing. Probably won't go anywhere else, it's just meant to be a standalone. Still, I hope you guys still enjoyed it. Feedback and comments are always welcome.

M. Skirata.


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